Furniture, Wood and Cabinetry Finishing - Novice preparing to paint a table

I'm planning to paint my sad, old kitchen table white to brighten up the room a bit. The table is oak, I believe, and I don't know what it's finished with.

I have no experience in painting furniture. I've tried to do my research, but many of the resources assume a certain base level of knowledge that I don't yet posess, so I still have a few questions.

1. My current plan is to sand the table to rough it up and prime it (two coats, sanding between). Is this sufficient, or should I plan to strip it?

2. There are some shallow dents in the tabletop - how can I best fix these?

3. Can I use a standard, white latex paint? Any restrictions on the paint type?

4. What type of topcoat should I use? And how many coats? I'd rather not have a super glossy finish, and I definitely don't want it to turn yellow, as I've heard many finishes can do.

Any advice would be very gratefully received. Thanks in advance!

1. My current plan is to sand the table to rough it up and prime it (two coats, sanding between). Is this sufficient, or should I plan to strip it? As long as you use 100 grit and sand off ALL of the sheen, you'll be fine. If you end up going through to the raw wood, all the better.

2. There are some shallow dents in the tabletop - how can I best fix these? Car Bondo. You can buy it at Walmart too. Sand flat with a power sander. Once you put your primer coat on, any additional flaws will show. If you're planning on hiding the grain of oak, you'll need to use a grain filler. If you don't mind seeing the graining, then proceed as normal.

3. Can I use a standard, white latex paint? Any restrictions on the paint type? Sure, but use Kilz primer first and two coats.

4. What type of topcoat should I use? And how many coats? I'd rather not have a super glossy finish, and I definitely don't want it to turn yellow, as I've heard many finishes can do. Hmm, Some floor finishes are "Non-yellowing" Check into Varathane at Menards. It comes in different Sheens.

Allow paint to dry more than 24 hours before you put an oil base finish on it. Buy a good brush like an Ox Hair or Horse Hair. Expect to pay between $20-30.00. A 3" would be good.

As far as top coats are concerned, the two coats of paint should be sufficient. It is not generally necessary to add a clear coat over paint. Paint is its own finish. A semi-gloss latex is generally enough of a sheen to keep clean easily without too much gloss.

Oil-based whites and similar colors will often yellow. You can avoid this by using latex paints.

Be sure to allow at least 4 days for the last coat of latex to dry before pressing the table into service, so the paint can cure adequately.

Hope this helps.